Zell's Little Tattoo Shop
by Miss Basil
Summary: Chapter 2 added! Zell moves in and meets Selphie. Trust me, it's much more interesting than that. =) R&R! Next chapter will be up in days.
1. Welcome To Manchester

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**_Zell's Little Tattoo Shop_**  
Chapter 1: Welcome To Manchester

**A/N: **This is a little brainchild I came up with a few days ago. I sat down to write, and it took on a life of it's own. Please let me know what you think. Oh, by the way, this actually has nothing to do with the game. I just took the characters and put them in another position. Make sense?

Zell Dincht lowered the device to the young girl's skin and glanced up at her face.  
"You realize that this is a one-time shot deal, right?"  
She nodded.  
"And that this is permenant, right?"  
She nodded again. "Are you trying to talk me out of it?" She asked.  
"Nah," Zell shook his head and began his work, causing the young lady to flinch invoulentary. "I'm just making sure you know what's going on."  
The girl nodded once more, relaxing in the leather chair on her stomach and closing her eyes, taking in the smell of the tattoo parlor.  
The small shop was downtown in Manchester, among the other various shops and markets, sitting on a corner at 68th and Remmington. Zell was the only owner and employee of the store, which was how he really liked it. He knew he could make more money if he employeed more people - any people - but he liked not having to work with anyone else.  
The shop was a gift from an old friend who had died recently, his dad's friend. Both his parents died when he turned 18, but his dad's friend still kept in touch, making sure Zell was doing well on his own. When the old man had died, he'd left the small building on the corner to Zell in his will. Zell was actually pretty lost on what to do with the building, but he put some work into it, and turned it into his favorite hobby - tattooing.  
He paused for a moment in his work to change the ink, and ran a hand through his blond hair, which was spiked up in the front into various spikes, and sighed. He had been about to close shop when the young girl had shown up and asked for a lion tattoo on her right shoulder blade. Zell had agreed and was now decorating her back with a lion body in tan, red, and black.  
"So, why're you getting this?" Zell asked. He knew well enough that people coped with the slight stinging sensation best by taking it off their mind.  
"I'm a Leo," she explained, taking in a deep breath the calm herself.  
"Mmm," Zell replied, concentrating on some particular detail hear the face of the lion. "So, what's your name?"  
The girl chuckled lightly, trying to smile. "You're not hitting on me, are you?"  
"Of course not," Zell replied. "It helps if you concentrate on other things, and I'm trying to get you to talk to me."  
"Ah," was her response.  
"So . . . what's your name?"  
"Nikki."  
"That's a nice name."  
"I'm glad you think so. My boyfriend didn't."  
Zell smiled, and stopped to change ink. "I'm sorry to hear that."  
The girl shrugged, then apoligized. "Sorry . . . I know I'm not supposed to move."  
"That's alright. I wasn't doing anything at the moment." Zell changed from tan to black ink. "Do you want it outlined in black?"  
"Umm . . . yea. Do it." Nikki replied.  
Zell nodded, finished changing the ink, and set to work.

~~~

An hour later, Zell stepped out of the building and locked the door.  
It was near 8:00 p.m., but he knew the coffee shop a few blocks up the street was still open, so he set off to get a drink.  
The air was slightly cold, and Zell tugged his leather jacket closer to his slim yet muscular frame, shivering. The winter season was over, but the air still held onto the chill temerpatures. He exhaled, watching his breath curl up into the air like smoke and he grinned. It didn't take much to entertain him, he mused to himself.  
When he reached the shop, he tugged the door open and stepped inside, gasping slightly at the wave of warm air that hit him, and listening to the little bell on the handle jingle to announce his presence. He wandered into the shop and made his way through the tables up to the counter where one of his best friends stood at the register.  
"Hello, welcome to The Bronze, may I take your order?"  
Zell rolled his eyes. "Cute, Quisty."  
"What?" Quistis Trepe looked innocent and grinned at Zell. "I'm under contract to say that to every cutomer that walks through the door. That includes you." She paused before looking at him. "You're ordering, right?"  
"Yea," he sighed. "Give me a coffee, two scoops sugar, cream, yada, yada, the usual."  
Quistis grinned again. She pulled out a pen and paper, and wrote _small coffee, sugar (2), cream, yada, yada._ She glanced up at Zell with a wolfish grin before turning around and and getting his coffee. Zell put down exactly $1.45 on the counter - he'd made this order before - and sat down at 'his' table, which was against the west wall, in the middle. He leaned the chair back against the wall and watched Quistis come around the counter and sit at his table, placing his coffee in front of him.  
"So, how're you doing?" Quistis asked, stirring her hot cinnamon tea and taking a sip.  
"Not bad," Zell replied, stirring his coffee and taking a sip and grinning. "Geez, you're good at this."  
"Did I get it right?" Quistis asked, raising eyebrows questioningly.  
"Yep," Zell grinned and took another sip. "I come here too often."  
"Or I know you too well," Quistis added, grinning. She took a sip and sighed, lapsing into silence as Zell looked around the coffee shop.  
The walls were white, with a burgandy lining framing everything. Tables covered the floor from the door to the counter near the back, complete with four chairs to every square table. Each table was covered with a white-and-burgandy colored tablecloth, the corners of the cloth taped under the table with scotch tape. The counter was burgandy with two registers and a few pads of paper, along with pens and a 'Take A Penny, Give A Penny' cup. Behind the counter, the menu was lit up on the wall, declaring the costs and discounts available, along with all the meals and sides. A door led to the back, where the food was cooked and coffee was brewed. The room smelled of coffee and vanilla, partly due to the vanilla Plug-In oil freshener in the outlet near the counter.  
"Mmm, penny for your thoughts," Quistis asked taking another sip.  
"I was just thinkin'," Zell replied, shrugging. He took another sip and sighed. "I have to pay rent pretty soon. I'm wondering where the money will come from."  
Quistis looked concerned. "Haven't you had people coming in to get tattooed?"  
"Well, yea, but I'm wondering how I'll pay rent along with getting myself fed."  
"Hehe, I see." Quistis grinned. "Hey, I have an idea." Quistis stood and wandered over to the counter. She lifted herself up onto the counter, lying on her stomach, and fumbled under the counter, pulling out her purse. She walked back over to the table and pulled out a card from her purse.  
"I need another roommate," Quistis explained, handing the card for the apartments she lived in over to Zell. "They're raising costs again, and me and Selphie can't cover it all."  
Zell nodded, eyes running over the card as he read in the information. He'd been to her apartment once or twice before, but he didn't remember it very well.  
"You could break lease and move in with us. With the combined income, we can cover the rent and still have enough for food."  
"Sounds good. This is only a few blocks away. I could walk."  
Quistis nodded. "Then we're good?"  
Zell grinned, tucked the card into his back pocket, and took a sip from his coffee, and sighed. "Yep."  
"Cool. You can start moving in whenever you like."  
"How about tomorrow?"  


~~~


	2. Quistis & Selphie's Apartment

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**_Zell's Little Tattoo Shop_**  
Chapter 2: Quistis & Selphie's Apartment

**A/N:** There was some confusion from the first chapter as to where this story falls in chronological relation to the FF8 game. Well, I have bad news for the die-hards. This story has **_absolutely no relation_** to the game **_whatsoever_**. I simply took the characters from the game and put them in my story. I could've used anyone for this - I could've used original characters for it. But since I like FF8, I used them. Geez, I sound boring, don't I? Hehe, I don't mean to sound like a teacher. Oh, yea. For those of you who asked if this would turn into a yaoi . . . let's just say . . . hold your breath. =)

And thank you for the positive reviews so far! I like Zell & Quistis' simple, relaxed relationship also, and it continues in this chapter as well. Just wanted to let you know. =) And, no, I have no idea where I'm going with this story. Hehe, okay, so that's a lie. =)

Now, on with the story!!!!!

~~~

Zell dropped his bags onto the floor of the apartment, and groaned.

  
"I must've been living in the expensive part of town," he muttered, looked around the apartment that was now his new home. "This place his huge."

  
He was standing in the doorway on hardwood floor of what Quistis explained to him was a 'townhouse,' which looked more like a mini house than an apartment. Right in front of him was a closet, in which he hung up his jacket and put his shoes (careful not to damage any of the sandals, boots, running shoes, and platform high-heels that were already inside). On his left was a small carpeted area that was obviously the living room, with a couch facing away from him, on the carpet. Along the wall that the door was against was another couch that ran to the far wall on Zell's left, where a small entertainment system was set up, complete with TV, VCR, DVD player, stereo system, and (Zell's eyes could hardly believe) a Playstation. A loveseat was facing the couch that sat against the wall with the front door, sitting on the edge of the carpet. Straight ahead, on the other side of the closet, was a small table with chairs, and farther ahead was a very small and very cramped kitchen, complete with refrigerator, freezer, stove, oven, microwave, and a few countertops with a toaster oven residing on them. To the left of the kitchen was a door to a small bathroom (just toilet & sink), a set of stairs going down, and farther left of that were stairs going up. Zell turned to Quistis and sighed.  


"How much does this cost a month?" He inquired.  


"$600, complete with taxes. C'mon, I'll show you your room."  


She led him up the stairs, where they reached a landing with a doorway on the left.  


"That's Selphie's room," Quistis explained. "I gave her the bigger of the three cause she has a habit of bringing guys home, and that's the only room that could accommodate a queen-size bed." Quistis grinned at Zell's look of annoyance, and sighed. "Selphie likes some good guys, but she has a problem to keeping with just one." Quistis grabbed Zell's arm and pulled him along. "C'mon."  


They turned on the landing and went up another short flight of stairs to a hallway with a railing on the right and doors on the left.  


"The first one is the bathroom," Quistis said, leading Zell down the hall, "The second is the linen closet, the third is my room, and the forth," she said, stopping in front of it, "is yours." Quistis pushed the door open and they stepped inside.  


A twin-sized bed was set with it's long side against the far wall, with a nightstand on it's left, which sported a small reading lamp and an alarm clock. A little ways away from that was a dresser and a mirror, and on it's left was a door that let to what Zell assumed was a clothing closet. Opposite of the dresser and mirror was another dresser, this one with a chair and a small shelf sitting on top of it. A window was between the nightstand and the dresser & mirror, with the window shut and curtains drawn.  


Zell dropped his bags and two suitcases next to the dresser and mirror before sitting down on the bed. He realized it was almost new, probably only used a few times.  


"Me and Selphie had a hoard of money when we got this place," Quistis said, obviously going into an explanation as to why a room they didn't use was furnished. "We furnished all the rooms after we bought the place, 'cause we thought we'd get a third roommate, but we never did get anyone substantial. We really didn't need another person until now, 'cause rent's going up." She leaned against the doorframe, smiling. "You're welcome to sell the stuff if you like yours better, or you can sell yours and keep ours. I talked with Selphie, and she really didn't mind either way. We would like your refrigerator, though, because ours is about to go ka-put."  


Zell nodded grinning. "It looks great. This place is huge compared to mine."  


Quistis smiled. "I'm glad you like it. You can go ahead and unpack. We'll discuss the details in the morning," She said, glancing at her watch.  


Zell nodded, yawning, as he stretched.  


"Selphie won't be home for another few hours - she's at work, but you can meet her in the morning, alright?"  


"Yea."  


"Great. I'll talk to you tomorrow. 'Night." With that, Quistis left, closing the door behind her.

~~~

Zell woke up the next morning to the clanging of pans and chatter downstairs that let him to believe both girls were alive and kicking.

He struggled to sit up in his bed, squinting to see his alarm clock. 10:45 a.m. He groaned. He was never good at getting up early in the morning, but his tattoo shop was supposed to open at 9 a.m. A fleeting thought of ajusting the hours to noon to 8 p.m. crossed his mind, but he dismissed it as he rose from his bed.

Remembering his mantra - _nothing quite like sleeping naked_ - he grabbed a pair of boxers lying on the floor and tugged them on before wandering out of his bedroom and down the hall. Peering into the bathroom revealed that the mirrors were slightly fogged, indicating recent use. He ignored these signs, closed the door behind him, and turned on the shower.

As he kicked off his boxers again and stepped into the stream of steamy water, his throughs drifted back to the last few days.

After Quistis' offer, he'd approached his landlord the following morning about breaking lease and moving. At first, Mr. Loire was completely against it, but as Zell was stepping out of his office, the phone rang. It turned out to be a female looking for an apartment, and she was calling to know if Laguna's apartments had any available openings. When she came down that afternoon to look at an apartment, Laguna has taken her directly into Zell's apartment. Within a matter of thirty minutes, a Ms. Andrea Anderson was signing a lease for the apartment as Zell was packing his bags.

That was yesterday.

As Zell wet his hair in the stream he reached for his shampoo . . . that wasn't there. He cursed inwardly as he realized he had a choice between Herbal Essences and Salon Selectives. Opting for Salon Selectives - it smelled the least like flowers and fruit - he lathered his hair and rinsed it out. He did the same with the conditioner, cringing at the flowery smell. He wondered vaguely if it would be weird to put cologune in his hair as he lathered up a bar of soap in a washrag and cleaned his body from head-to-toe.

He turned the stream of water off as he stepped out of the shower, grabbing a towel and wrapping it around his waist loosely. he grabbed another towel and used it to dry his hair and upper body. As he finished, he paused and looked at himself in the mirror.

When he was still living with his parents, he'd spent a lot of time working out. Now, granted, he'd never gotten totally ripped, but he had had a decent body, nicely defined and toned. Now, a few years later, he'd lost some of the muscle, but he had to admit he still looked good. He reached up a hand and traced the black tattoo on the left side of his face. He'd gotten it done when his parents died, partly because they would've died if they'd seen him do it anyway, and partly because he wanted to see something on him that would remind him of them. It had taken over an hour to do and cost roughly $100 dollars - but it was worth every penny.

Zell grabbed his boxers off the floor and opened the door, stepping out of the bathroom. As he did, he heard Quistis downstairs.

"Zell!"

"Yea?" Zell wandered over to the edge of the railing and looked down. He heard footsteps and soon Quistis came ot the bottom of the stairs.

"I'm making breakfast because I don't trust Selphie in the kitchen. What do you want? I'm having eggs and bacon."

"Sounds good," Zell replied, shrugging. "I really don't care."

"Fine. Hurry up, it'll be done in, like, ten minutes."

"Sure." Zell turned and padded down the hall back to his room.

Closing the door behind him, he pulled out a new pair of boxers, a black t-shirt to defy the cold temperatures, a pair of jeans, and his leather jacket, along with socks, and pulled them all on. He fumbled around for a few minutes in his bags until he located what he was searching for - hair jell. He pulled out a comb to untangle his locks, before spiking up his front bangs into several spikes that Quistis has once joked she could impale apples on. That done, he replaced the cap and tucked the containder back into his bags.

He stepped out of his room and made his way through the hall. He paused at the bathroom to hang the towels back up before going down the stairs. As he decended the final staircase, he noticed a small brunette seated at the table. Her hair was kind of short, hanging straight, somewhat past her ears and onto her shoulders. She wore a t-shirt with the front tied into a knot right under her chest and a pair of very short jean shorts, and was currently nibbling on pretzel sticks. As he walked over to the table, she turned her head to look at him. The very first words out of her mouth were:

"Holy shit, Quisty! He's gorgeous!"

Quistis came out of the kitchen carring a pan with eggs sizzling, glaring at the brunette, who Zell assumed to be Selphie. She was dressed in flair jeans and a tank top, with her hair pulled up into a bun. "Geez, big-mouth, don't embarass him. Then again, I don't think you can." Quistis tossed a grin at Zell, who grinned back wickedly.

Zell sat down on the opposite side of the table the brunette was on, which happened to be the side closest to the kitchen, as the little lady jabbered.

"So, he's taken, right, Quisty?"

"I dunno," Quistis replied, looking at Zell as she pulled toast out of the toaster oven and buttered it. "Are you, Zell?"

Zell shook his head, grinning faintly as he mentally prepared himself for the girl's next onslaught.

"Oh, really?" She got up onto her knees on her chair and almost climbed onto the table as she reached her hand across the table towards Zell. "Hi, my name's Selphie Tillmit."

Yep, it's Selphie all right.

"And I'm Zell Dincht," Zell replied, shaking her hand before she fell out of the chair. Selphie settled back into her chair and picked up another pretzel.

"So, what do you do?" she inquired.

"I run my own tattoo shop down on 68th and Remmington. And you?"

"I work at the Seventh Heaven Bar it's down on 73rd and Maple and where did you get that tattoo?" Selphie asked, combining three sentences into one.

"I got it after my parents died," Zell replied as Quistis ploped a plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast with a fork in front of him. He picked up the fork and began eatting.

"That's sad," Selphie replied, chewing thoughtfully as her mind obviously kicked into gear. She sat for a few moments silently before picking up what appeared to be a glass of apple juice and taking a very unlady-like gulp. As she put the glass down, Zell could not help but ask.

"How old are you?"

"19, you have to be the old to work at a bar. How old're you?"

"20," Zell replied with a shrug. He forked eggs into his mouth, ending the conversation.

~~~

**A/N:** Okay, so this one had an sudden ending . . . but don't worry - chapter 3 will be out within days, so be prepared! In chapter three: Irvine comes home with Selphie and NO ONE sleeps! =) Later. 


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